Tarcísio vetoes project that prohibits sale of animals as pets – 10/09/2023 – Panel

The Tarcísio de Freitas government (Republicanos-SP) vetoed the bill by state deputy Rafael Saraiva (União Brasil) which proposed a ban on the resale of dogs, cats and domestic birds in any commercial establishment that was not qualified as a breeding facility, which includes pet shops and similar, such as websites that sell online.

In his veto, the governor states that the proposal contradicts the constitutional freedom of economic initiative and prevents the “responsible exercise of commercial activities”. As the Panel showed, businesspeople had been maintaining dialogue with the governor and reinforcing this argument.

The Tarcísio administration then decided to draft a bill in collaboration with Saraiva, already published in the Official Gazette this Monday (9). The text proposes the regulation of the sale of domestic dogs and cats exclusively and has a milder content than the parliamentarian’s bill, but with measures that should be considered small advances by groups linked to the animal cause.

One of the main ones is the determination that these animals are not displayed in closed windows or in conditions that cause stress.

The text also stipulates rules for the commercialization of animals, such as microchipping, the mandatory registration of animals (births, deaths, sales and exchanges) for a period of five years by breeders, a period of at least sixty days of life so that the puppies can be sold, among others. People who sell animals online will have to follow the same rules.

Furthermore, Tarcísio’s project brings an article with the recognition that animals are sentient beings, that is, they have feelings and sensitivity, and that, therefore, they are worthy of legal protection. Santa Catarina, Minas Gerais, Rio Grande do Sul and Paraíba have already made this legal recognition.

The bill also establishes that municipal inspection bodies monitor due compliance with the law and links non-compliance with its provisions to the environmental crimes law.

Saraiva says that Tarcísio was very sensitive to the topic from the beginning and that the new text “is a middle ground” that was found to “end the suffering of animals in shop windows, unhealthy environments in pet shops, but that good businesspeople would continue to branch, separating the good from the bad, adapting businesses to good animal health and welfare practices”.

In this sense, he celebrates what he sees as the first achievements in the Executive’s project and states that he will insist on the debate on the ban on sales under any circumstances.

“São Paulo was stagnant, animals were not the subject of public policy discussions. From now on we will bring more discussions to the fore, such as regional public veterinary hospitals in the macro-regions, state castration campaigns, aid campaigns for protectors and NGOs and studying ways so that we stop drying up when it comes to the animal cause”, he adds.

The Executive’s text, which also proposes the establishment of May as Animal Health Month, will need to be voted on in Alesp. In an official letter, the governor called for urgency in processing the issue.

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